porthole options

So, I bought a porthole.... I have been working on an image to put into the porthole to use as a picture frame.  The images are 6" square.  Thanks for stopping by.

The Great Wolf at the Abbey

Society of Illustrators Los Angeles Silver Medal

This just in:  I am most honored and thrilled to receive a Silver Medal award for Illustration / Self Promotion (Girl Behind the Window) from Society of Illustrators Los Angeles. Congratulations to all those who have made it in. 

Whitby Abbey Archway WIP 2 detail

Still plugging away at this one in spurts... I may put it back up for a while if I find something more exciting to work on.  Thanks for stopping by.

Selves

a small triple self portrait to keep me busy today.  Thanks for stopping by.

Whitby Abbey archway5 wip1

the darks are all inked in, now to start the scratch details.  Thanks for stopping by.

German Castle window completed for 2017 Holiday Card

Time ran short this year so I adopted the drawing of the german castle window into a Holly and Ivy Holiday card for this year.  I'm done with leaves for a little while but I am happy with the result.  Thanks for stopping by.

German Castle Window WIP 2

still plugging away on ivy, ivy and more ivy leaves.

Easter Island celebrates additional Holidays.

some days an idea gets stuck in my head and will irritate me until I get it out onto paper. This was one of those time.  Thanks for Stopping by.

German Castle Window - WIP1

From the Germany Trip from a few weeks ago, Bamberg Castle Window, Work in progress. A lot of ivy yet to be drawn.  thanks for stopping by.

Mausoleum Doors from Dracula's Guest

The First interior illustration for Dracula's Guest is in the completed folder.  I learned quite a bit on this one. Hopefully you enjoy this as much as I did working on it.  Thanks for stopping by.

Dracula's Guest interior illustration1 thumbnail sketches

interior illustration thumbnail sketches for Dracula's Guest.  The Mausoleum scene.  Thanks for stopping by.

Dracula's Guest Cover

Dracula's Guest is complete.

Dracula's Guest Cover WIP1

work in progress for Cover version 1, work in progress 1. A long way to go, but I like what is happening so far.

thumbnail sketches for Dracula's guest

working on a new project... Dracula's Guest. A short story by Bram Stoker... this story was from the original Dracula novel, but was removed to reduce the length. It was published two years after Stoker's death.  The short story is in public domain. If you wish to read it, here is the link...   http://www.bramstoker.org/pdf/stories/03guest/01guest.pdf

Girl Pirate WIP 2

just plugging away on this one... for those who are curious, this shows how I am starting to build shadows and highlights.  Thanks for stopping by.

Girl Pirate WIP 1

So I am now working this piece digitally. Here is session one work in progress shots.  Thanks for stopping by.

sketches for two new pieces

working on some traditional hand drawn portraits. Two sketches... the profile of the bearded man is a smaller piece. The one of the standing girl pirate is probably 12"x24" in size. We shall see what happens.  Thanks as always for stopping by. -db

The Soloist completed

The Soloist is finally done. It was a good exercise in staying focused and working towards a larger goal. Thanks for stopping by.

detail of new work in progress

This is a detail of a larger piece I am working on... it will probably be at least two to three more weeks of work to get it finished.   Thanks for stopping by.

BR1 Blue Cap

Second of the new model series. This one went really fast. I like it.  thanks for stopping by.

new BR sketch for drawing...

New sketch for a drawing with the new model. This drawing has already been started and is going quite nicely.

BR1 Top Hat

I am working working with a new model.  I've always wanted to render out a really big beard. This was so much fun.  As always, thanks for stopping by.

Dark Prayer

Another in the Cryptic Strays series... Dark Prayer.

The Man With Black Eyes

The Man with Black Eyes.  Just a quick weekender to keep me occupied and drawing. Thanks for Stopping by.

Big Sur Tree

Finally, Big Sur Tree is complete. This took a while due to other projects, but I am happy with the results.  Ahhhh, one more under the belt.  Thanks for stopping by. -db

Cryptic Strays final 3: The boy stared at this thing and tried to figure out what it was, trying to convince himself it was probably just part of the tree... then the shape shifted it’s weight.

The boy stared at this thing and tried to figure out what it was, trying to convince himself it was probably just part of the tree... then the shape shifted it’s weight.

The Cryptic Strays TreeThing WIP1

first weekend working on the thing in the tree. So far so good. We shall see how the leaves and apples render out.  Thanks for stopping by

The Cryptic Strays... new sketch for the thing in the tree

This is what I am going with for the composition for The Thing in the Tree... The previous version with the thing in the moonlight is too different from what I am trying to accomplish. I am striving for something a bit more quiet and personal.

new sketch for The Cryptic Strays

new sketch for the series... "When the first boy pointed out the shape, the boys agreed that it looked creepy but began to doubt the validity of what the first boy claimed… then the shape moved."  Thanks for stopping by.

Three Cats -the cryptic strays series

"While all staring at the same spot on one wall, they would slowly turn their heads as they watched...something...cross the room."

The Cryptic Strays... 3cats WIPsession 1

I started up the final today and got pretty far. We shall see if I can finish up before Monday.  Keep those fingers crossed in a good way, and thanks for stopping by.  -db

new sketch for The Cryptic Strays... three cats

"While all staring at the same spot on one wall, they would slowly turn their heads as they watched...something...cross the room."

And She's Still Staring at me!!

The piece is titled "And She's Still Staring At Me!!"  from a new series I am starting called The Cryptic Strays.  The Cryptic Strays is a series of drawings inspired by strange or ghostly stories that have been told to me by those who experienced the incidents.

Big Sur Tree WIP 2

still plugging away at tiny little leaves.  Thanks for stopping by.

Eastern State Penitentiary Door Pulley

Eastern State Penitentiary sliding door pulley.

Big Sur Tree WIP 1

starting up another tree drawing.  This is a smaller piece, 11"x14" I think.  Thanks for stopping by.

Douglas Bell Named by Creative Quarterly as 100 Best Winner

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Douglas Bell
Named by Creative Quarterly as 100 Best Winner

[New York] Derby 1, a project developed by Douglas Bell, was selected as one of the top 25 award-winning entries in the Professional Illustration Unpublished category. This highly selective and well-recognized competition sponsored by Creative Quarterly, The Journal of Art & Design magazine, now in its 12th year, recognizes outstanding creative work produced by artists, graphic designers, illustrators and photographers from around the world. A complete list of this year’s 100 Best winners is available at www.cqjournal.com/annual.

Winners of our quarterly competitions move on to our year-end competition where 25 winners in each category are selected by a distinguished jury. This year’s judging panel included Caitlin Karolczak, fine artist; Reiner Hebe, Hebe Webeagentur, graphic designer; Page Tsou, illustrator and Daniel Featherstone, photographer.

Entries were judged according to these criteria:

            • How well does the entry communicate?

            • How memorable or unique is the entry?

            • How strong is the entry aesthetically?

Each year winners represent countries in Europe, Asia, Latin America and North America. Both professional and academic winners are represented.

Project title: Derby 1

Client: Self Promotion

Creative team: Douglas Bell

All winning projects will be prominently featured in the 128-page, hardbound100 Best annual coming out in May, 2017.

Creative Quarterly sponsors quarterly competitions in January, April, July and October. Information about this year’s shows is available at www.cqjournal.com/callforentries.

About Creative Quarterly

Creative Quarterly offers the best of art and design, quarterly. Founded in 2005 Creative Quarterly has received numerous international awards and recognition for its design. The magazine showcases the work of fine artists, graphic designers, illustrators and photographers, both professional and academic work is featured in both the magazine and online gallery. Creative Quarterly is distributed worldwide.

Caedmon's Cross final

Caedmon's Cross is finally complete.  I have not been so glad to see a piece finished in quite a while.  I don't want to draw a grassy field again for quite some time.  All in all, I am happy with the results. Thanks for stopping by.

Caedmon's cross WIP detail

detail of Caedmon's cross.

Caedmon's Cross WIP 1

Wow, who knew drawing grass was going to be such a daunting task... not naive old me.  Well, it is a learning opportunity. Thanks for stopping by. -db

opengates WIP1

starting up a new drawing... more old stone buildings with rusty iron gates and a haunting female character.